24 minute read
Editor’s Note
WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA: WELCOME TO THE FAMILY
PANG YANRONG Senior Editor
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With a blink of an eye, we’re now on the last issue of the year.
2020 has been a year of many major events – from the bushfi res in Australia, the impeachment trial of US President Donald Trump, at the time of writing, the US drone strike that killed Iranian Gen. Qasem Soleimani to the current raging pandemic – it’s been a rough ride.
But while the going gets tough, the tough gets going. The industry has remained resilient in times of tough economy and health.
For instance, physical shows have turned virtual in order to continue providing solutions to users (p.8). Growth is also happening as seen with Gradiant acquisition of Sigma Water Malaysia (p.9) and Hach’s with Arachem’s water quality business (p.11). This is on top of UK-India memorandum of understanding (MOU) to boost trade in the water sector (p.10) as well as the MOU between PILLER and Memsift (p.12) to combine both companies’ eff orts and expertise.
Then there’s Cla-Val helping to rehabilitate Ulanbataars Water supply in Mongolia (p.18) and Bentley Systems stepping in to assist Manila Water in the Philippines in reducing their losses (p.19).
Despite a gloomy year, with many countries still on lockdown there are still fun moments too. The National University of Singapore (NUS) has discovered a novel usage for the pineapple by converting its leaves into ultra-light, biodegradable aerogels (p.30). There’s also a listicle on the seven sins against local water management (p.34).
So while this year has not exactly been ideal, there were still good moments. And we’re looking to taking on 2021 with much gusto! So stay safe, everybody.
Oh, and please do not forget to check out Water & Wastewater Asia’s new logo and website (p.6)!
Cheers,
LET'S CONNECT!
@waterwastewaterasia ™
PABLO SINGAPORE
Publisher
Senior Editor
Assistant Editor
Business Development Manager
Graphic Designer
Circulation Manager
PABLO BEIJING General Manager
PABLO SHANGHAI
Editor William Pang williampang@pabloasia.com
Pang Yanrong yanrong@pabloasia.com
Natalie Chew natalie@pabloasia.com
YanJun Pang yanjun@pabloasia.com
Edwin De Souza edwin@pabloasia.com
Shu Ai Ling circulation@pabloasia.com
Ellen Gao pablobeijing@163.com
Sharon Wu pabloshanghai@163.net
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Water & Wastewater Asia is the offi cial publication of the Singapore Water Association
WATER & WASTEWATER ASIA, the trade professional’s go-to for expert sources of industry information, recently launched its new corporate brand identity, redesigned logo, and website.
These changes come at a time when the company is evolving and diversifying its service off erings to the industry.
Designed to work eff ortlessly across digital and physical channels, the new logo brings forth the image of waves moving across the water’s surface, refl ecting the water OXYMEM, a recent acquisition by DuPont, was recently named the “Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year” by the Global Water Awards for its innovative Membrane Aerated Biofi lm Reactor (MABR) technology for the treatment and purifi cation of municipal and industrial wastewater. Named one of the most impressive commercial breakthroughs into the global water technology market in 2019, OxyMem’s drop-in MABR modules intensify the biological process on existing wastewater treatment plants, increasing treatment capacity with minimal energy consumption. Rather than expanding existing wastewater plants to meet tightening effl uent standards and to cater for population growth. and wastewater industry’s dynamism and constant change.
To date, Water & Wastewater Asia’s logo has been primarily blue and white – the new logo incorporates blue colour gradients, transitioning from dark to light blue, and signifying movement and change.
The newly-redesigned website allows for ease of navigation, with a layout structured to provide a seamless user experience. A new “Virtual Exhibition” page has also been added, to cater to the increasingly Once in place, MABR delivers oxygen to the established biofi lm via millions of gas permeable membrane fi bres; a mechanism capable of using up to 75% less energy than traditional bubble aeration. digital landscape that trade shows and exhibitions now need to navigate. With this new addition, Water & Wastewater Asia displays how it is primed to bring industry professionals everything they need to stay at the forefront of the industry’s innovations.
The changeover to the new brand design is expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
Visit Water & Wastewater Asia’s website (https://waterwastewaterasia.com) for
DuPont’s OxyMem wins “Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year” at Global Water Summit
OxyMem, a recent acquisition by DuPont, won the “Breakthrough Technology Company of the Year” by the Global Water Awards. Photo credit: Global Water Awards’ website
treatment plants, MABR off ers a cost-eff ective way to retrofi t and upgrade activated sludge daily industry news and updates! In older plants, OxyMem’s MABR may also improve sludge settlement and generate less waste biosolids, reducing the cost and eff ort of removal from site.
Bentley Systems, Incorporated, the infrastructure engineering software company, has announced the winners of the Year in Infrastructure 2020 Awards. The annual awards programme honours the extraordinary work of Bentley users advancing design, construction, and operations of infrastructure throughout the world.
Sixteen independent jury panels selected the 57 fi nalists from over 400 nominations submitted by more than 330 organisations from more than 60 countries. Bentley Systems acknowledged 19 Year in Infrastructure 2020 Awards winners and 14 Special Recognition awardees on October 21 during the Year in Infrastructure 2020 Conference, held virtually for the fi rst time.
The Year in Infrastructure 2020 Special Recognition awardees for the water categories are:
Water and Wastewater Treatment Plants
Hatch
Ashbridges Bay Treatment Plant Outfall
Toronto, Ontario, Canada
Water, Wastewater, and Stormwater Networks
DTK Hydronet Solutions
Digital Water Network Engineering & Asset Management of Dibrugarh Water Supply Project
Dibrugarh, Assam, India
ASIAWATER goes virtual
INFORMA MARKETS, the organiser of ASIAWATER, has offi cially announced that the event will go on as a virtual event from 30 November to 2 December 2020.
ASIAWATER 2020 was originally scheduled to take place at Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre (KLCC) in Malaysia as a hybrid event, combining both physical and virtual exhibition and conference in one event, but the COVID-19 situation has meant that organisers have to remove the physical aspect of the event.
The decision was made considering the latest development of the COVID-19 situation in Malaysia, as well as the government’s decision to implement the Recovery Movement Control Order until 31 December 2020. The uncertainties currently posed by the global pandemic and the subsequent travel control measures have disrupted most business activities and restrained the participation of international exhibitors and visitors to the physical event.
ASIAWATER 2020 Virtual Event is aimed at keeping the water and wastewater industry in Malaysia and across South East Asia connected with their leading exhibiting brands, assisting industry players and manufacturers to collaborate, share best practices, and adopt a cost-eff ective method in growing their businesses digitally. Running concurrently with the virtual exhibition will be ASIAWATER’s Conference & Seminars, which will also be held virtually during the ASIAWATER 2020 Virtual Event.
“With the recent global pandemic, businesses around the globe have been badly aff ected due to travel restrictions and other business uncertainties, which directly inhibits business dealings and face-to-face interactions. In the meanwhile, adapting to the new norm of digitisation, ASIAWATER 2020 is proud to debut our virtual event this year to ensure our stakeholders can conduct business and continue the industry conversation.
Our virtual event is one of ASIAWATER’s many digital solutions designed to facilitate businesses for our customers,” said Mr Gerard Leeuwenburgh, country general manager of Informa Markets in Malaysia.
The virtual event is designed to replicate the appearance of a live event, creating a virtual presence of exhibiting brands to ensure a realistic and immersive experience for both exhibitors and visitors to connect in a non-restricted virtual space. Customised exhibition booths and structures are available across the platform, where visitors can conveniently visit and browse the exhibitor’s off erings.
ASIAWATER 2020 Virtual Event platform will be kept running 24 hours a day for the span of the three days, to keep exhibitors and visitors from diff erent parts of the world and time zones connected.
In addition, the virtual exhibition includes an interactive online business matching platform where buyers can engage in a meaningful real-time conversation and information sharing with all the exhibitors through a one-on-one session in a live chatroom.
ASIAWATER 2020 Virtual Exhibition is expected to draw more than 1,000 quality virtual trade visitors along with some 100 participating companies.
ASIAWATER 2020 will be a virtual event. Photo credit: ASIAWATER’s website
Gradiant acquires Sigma Water (Malaysia) as part of South East Asia growth strategy
GRADIANT, an international end-to-end water solutions provider, has acquired Malaysia-based Sigma Water Engineering (M) Sdn Bhd to expand its regional operations throughout South East Asia and provide support to its project achievements in Singapore, Vietnam, Malaysia and Indonesia.
Sigma Water Engineering, based in Selangor, Malaysia, is an industrial water and wastewater treatment company with repeated success in delivering industrial water treatment systems in food and beverage, oil and gas, glove manufacturing, and other various water intensive industries.
Additionally, Sigma Water has a strong manufacturing front with a fabrication and chemical storage facility also based in Malaysia along with established relationships with both global and local customers, contractors, and other resources supplying Gradiant with further reach and experience throughout the region.
The combination of Gradiant’s award-winning technologies and strong fi nancing capabilities alongside Sigma Water’s project delivery and O&M expertise presents the South East Asian water market with a new and signifi cantly improved suite of sustainable and cost-eff ective solutions to water treatment.
Gradiant will integrate its brine concentration product suite utilizing its proprietary Carrier Gas Extraction CGE™ and RO Infi nity ROi™ systems with Sigma Water’s engineering and execution abilities to better serve regional customers across diff erent sectors. These customers will also benefi t from the new asset performance management services that will manage plants remotely and on-site.
“This acquisition solidifi es Gradiant as the premier choice for complex wastewater treatment in the South East Asian water market. Sigma Water has the experience, the manufacturing scale, and the reputable network bolstering Gradiant’s presence throughout the region and improving upon our customer off erings. Our collective approach will increase freshwater recovery, reduce harmful wastewater volumes to zero or minimum liquid discharge (ZLD/MLD), improve asset performance and improve overall lifecycle costs for our customers. This means better for our environment and better for our customers – a true win-win,” said Prakash Govindan, co-founder and COO of Gradiant.
This announcement comes off the back of a strong year for Gradiant, which recently announced that it won 12 projects in H1 2020 across Asia Pacifi c, ranging from the production of domestic water from rivers to treatment of high-contamination industrial effl uent for reuse, including ZLD applications.
UK-India water MoU off ers “great boost” to trade
BRITISH Water Chief Executive Lila Thompson says a new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed between India and the UK’s leading water sector trade association will “bring a great boost” to trading relationships between the two countries.
Thompson’s comments came at the IndiaUK Water Partnership Forum, a virtual event which took place on 22 September 2020.
The collaborative agreement has been signed by British Water, cGanga - a thinktank set up by the Indian Government’s Ministry of Drinking Water & Sanitation (Jal Shakti) - and the National Mission for Clean Ganga (NMCG). With some $200 billion of investment planned for the Indian water market, the MoU has been formalised to make it easier for the UK water industry to participate in the opportunities and for Indian companies to access global markets.
Thompson said that India’s Environmental Technology Verifi cation programme is a particularly useful channel for UK technology companies seeking to enter the Indian market.
“A number of companies, including British Water members, have already been selected for work on the Clean Ganges Programme and are already in the process of rolling out their pilots and demonstration projects,” she said.
India’s Secretary of the Ministry of Jal Shakti, Upendra Prasad Singh, gave a keynote address to delegates. He explained the vast challenges faced by the country, which includes bringing drinking water and sanitation to every household. The ambitious 2024 deadline for the drinking water mission (Jal Jeewan) means making 1.1 million connections each day.
“We can’t aff ord to fail,” he said, outlining the two key components for the Ministry which are civil management of water and wastewater and ensuring greater fl ow in all
The new Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) agreed between India and the UK’s leading water sector trade association will “bring a great boost” to trading relationships between the two countries
river basins. “We have always welcomed any kind of cooperation, technical or otherwise, from other countries and we have tried to remove any entry barriers for companies from other countries so that we get best technologies and best of their practices.” Secretary Singh also explained how by streamlining the design, construction and operation of new infrastructure, the Government aimed to raise the standard of project delivery and operation. Dr Vinod Tare, founding head of cGanga, told the Forum that the Indian Government has to deliver and needs to bring the very best know-how, technology and best practice from around the world and to “develop a unique blend of experience from developed and developing world approaches.” Finance and investment were also major themes of the Forum, which saw participation from the City of London Corporation (CLC) and the London Stock Exchange. In her inaugural address, the Indian High Commissioner to the UK, Gaitri Issar Kumar, said, “The UK is at cutting edge of innovation in the water sector and is also the leading today tremendous business and investment opportunities in the Indian water sector.” The MOU was facilitated by British Water’s International Forum and international manager, Karolina Perét alongside British Water international business mentor for
green fi nance hub of the world – there are India and Asia, Jas Sohl. Speaking after the event, Perét said, “After many months of planning and collaboration, I am thrilled this important MoU has been signed. British Water has a long history of organising business development visits to India, and this partnership will open many more doors for our members, who have a depth of experience and expertise. We look forward to working with cGanga to help deliver critical transformation of water and wastewater services in India.”
Next steps for the collaboration include further briefi ngs on cGanga and other project opportunities and the exploration of UK participation at the India Water Impact Summit. The UK will play to host the Indian Government and industry with planned site visits to see water technology and engineering innovations in action.
The partners will also work together to shine a spotlight on water at COP26 - the 26th United Nations climate change conference - which takes place in Glasgow, Scotland from 1 November 2020.
Hach acquires Arachem’s Water Quality business, expands training centre in Malaysia
HACH COMPANY, a subsidiary of Danaher Corporation based in Loveland, Colorado, USA, has recently acquired the Environment, Process and Service divisions of Arachem, a specialised supplier of laboratory and online analysers for water and wastewater based in Malaysia. The acquisition expands Hach’s direct presence in Malaysia, while strengthening their ability to ensure water quality across Asia.
The business, which will be called Hach Malaysia, will off er water quality expertise, support and service. Hach Malaysia will also house a robust technical training centre that will serve customers and associates across the Asia-Pacifi c region. Hach Malaysia will support growth initiatives for businesses across Danaher’s Water Quality Platform including Trojan Technologies, OTT Hydromet and SeaBird Scientifi c. Hach Malaysia further increases the analytics and treatment capabilities of these businesses and their expertise to solve tough water challenges that impact health and infrastructure around the world.
“This acquisition is an important moment in our global growth and water leadership because it gives us added improvement guides growth training capabilities in the while keeping operations Asian region, which means and decisions smart, more people who are innovative and anchored to equipped to tackle tough the voice of customers. water issues,” said Sahil Sansi, general manager of “We’ve built a trusted Hach Malaysia. partnership with Arachem “This acquisition allows us so we are looking forward to to deepen our presence in a strengthening and building fast-growing region where Hach’s acquisition of the on that collaboration. the issue of water quality Environment, Process and Malaysia is one of the will only continue to gain Service divisions of Arachem sees the company expanding leading geographies for signifi cance. Arachem has its presence in Malaysia, while Hach within the Asian an exceptionally talented strengthening their ability to ensure water quality across Asia region, with Arachem team and has built a strong being one of Hach’s reputation and customer relationships, top distributors globally,” said Hermes which gives us the foundation to provide Gonzalez, president of Hach. deep expertise through technical support and exceptional customer service.” “Strong market dynamics in South East GROWTH STRATEGY direct presence in the region in terms of Hach and Danaher have a strong track selling to customers, enhancing service record of integrating acquisitions, capability and building a strong technical improving businesses, expanding training centre. Arachem is the ideal innovation and off ering new products partner to achieve these goals.” to customers. A focus on continuous over the past several years, Asia make it the right time to deepen our
PILLER signs MOU with Memsift
Customised PILLER MVR Blower solutions
PILLER, a German-based blowers & compressors manufacturer, recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Singaporean industrial liquid-waste treatment company Memsift Innovations – this MOU promises to combine both companies’ eff orts and expertise, creating a new benchmark for industrial liquid-waste treatment and zero liquid discharge (ZLD).
Jeff Choong, regional sales engineer for Piller SEA Pte Ltd, said, “PILLER and Memsift joined hands in cooperation in order to combine eff orts and expertise, setting a new benchmark for industrial liquid-waste treatment and ZLD.
Being the technological leader in MVR blower technology, Piller Blowers & Compressors is always striving for innovations and futureoriented projects. Blowers from PILLER are used as a core element in a wide range of wastewater applications.
Our latest development, the PILLER VapoFan, a compact and modular MVR blower, is the
perfect fi t to Memsift’s system: The Blower is specifi cally designed for low fl ow rates (200kg/hr to 5000kg/hr of steam) – an excellent solution for the low fl ow brine treatment.
This matches Memsift’s innovative thermal membrane process, used for ZLD, treating industrial waste water with highest effi ciency.”
Located in Singapore, Piller SEA Pte Ltd covers the sales areas of South East Asia, Oceania, Taiwan, Australia and South Korea. PILLER off ers centrifugal MVR Blowers since the 1980s, which are applied in various industries such as dairy, petrochemical, chemical and beverage processing. Through their continuous improvement programme, PILLER has developed a new solution for low fl ow MVR applications - the VapoFan series.
This series of MVR Blowers off ers advanced performance with improved reliability in a compact modular equipment off ering. The VapoFan series is a complete system consisting of a vertically arranged blower, a high-speed motor and a Variable Frequency Drive (VFD). The system convinces with its compact and modular design, resulting in lower cost and shorter delivery, as well as with perfectly matched blower and motor for mass fl ows from 200kg/hr to 5,000kg/hr. These features match with Memsift’s current focus.
PILLER and Memsift will work together in developing a prototype industrial liquidwaste treatment system by integrating PILLER’s VapoFan into Memsift’s TS-30 ZLD System.
“Memsift will be responsible for the technology of the system in general, while PILLER provides the solution for vapour compression within that system,” said Choong. “Our blower will thus be important for overall energy effi ciency. Memsift’s system is currently in the development phase, and they are optimistic to launch it in the market in 2021.”
PILLER will work with Memsift to develop a prototype industrial liquid-waste treatment system
“As one of the technological leading centrifugal MVR blower manufacturers, we are acting internationally – providing customised high-performance blowers and compressors for the process industry.
Besides off ering high-performance blowers, PILLER uses MVR technology for heat recovery; as an Industrial Heat Pump.
Against the backdrop of rising energy prices, generating or recovering steam is an attractive option in many industries and countries. Extreme reductions in energy consumption and costs can be achieved by implementing our solution.”
For Memsift, the partnership will allow them to tap into German technology and the expertise to demonstrate a low-temperature liquid-waste treatment system that will reduce energy consumption by up to 90% when compared to conventional liquid-waste incineration methods.
For PILLER, working with Memsift will open new doors of opportunity. “With this new partnership, PILLER again proves its innovative strength and customer orientation,” said Choong. “The project implemented by Memsift addresses the waste disposal cost issues for many industrial companies. This means a huge step in wastewater industry, off ering a solution to recover waste energy and reducing CO2 emissions.”
He added, “The collaboration with Memsift shows the demand in low fl ow ZLD treatment and unites that with reliable, effi cient vapour compression solutions – as environmentally-friendly solutions. With the increasing awareness in wastewater treatment, energy recovery and CO2 emission all over the world, we look ahead to a lot of opportunities – even for the South East Asian region.”
Cerahelix names William Paulus CEO
CERAHELIX, INC., an organisation involved in the development and manufacture of disruptive ceramic nanofi ltration membrane products, has announced the appointment of William (Bill) Paulus as chief executive offi cer.
Paulus, who joined Cerahelix in January as chief operating offi cer, will oversee the company’s plans to accelerate growth and fi rmly establish its leadership in the growing market for ceramic nanofi ltration to solve often complex fi ltration and separation challenges.
Manufactured using the company’s patented thin-fi lm and DNA templating technology, Cerahelix ceramic nanofi ltration membranes represents the next generation in fi ltration and separation technology. They are being used by a growing number of companies to address their fi ltration, treatment and separation requirements. Grundfos recently announced the next step in their global transformation to strengthen its position as one of the world’s leading water technology companies, pioneering solutions to the world’s water and climate challenges and improving quality of life for people. The company is responding to trends in changing customer needs by reorganising for simplicity and speed, and by investing capabilities. For instance, it is organising its sales, marketing, technology and operations functions to serve four diff erent customer segments: Commercial Building Services, Domestic Building Services, Industry, and Water Utility. This creates a more customer centric structure, where the whole value chain is focused on meeting customers’ unique needs. Even though the COVID-19 pandemic has had a signifi cant impact on markets globally in the fi rst half of 2020, Grundfos is making these changes from a position of strength. Jens Moberg, chairman of the Holding Board of Directors, said, “Our strong performance allows us to make these changes from a position of strength. Now is the right time for us to make the changes to put our strategy into action.” This transformation results in a reduction of approximately 600 employees worldwide. ceramic nanofi ltration as a powerful solution for a wide array of applications,” said Paulus.
Paulus brings more than 30 years of experience in manufacturing and global operations to his position. Prior to becoming part of the Cerahelix team, he was vice president of Global Operations at Celgard, a global leader in the development and manufacturing of high-performance membrane separators, where he also served as vice president of Product Development and director of intellectual property and corporate strategy.
William Paulus, newly-appointed CEO of Cerahelix “At Cerahelix, our goal is to help customers solve “At Cerahelix, our goal is to help customers improve process effi ciency by leveraging the solve their fi ltration and separation challenges power of ceramic nanofi ltration. I am grateful and improve process effi ciency by leveraging for the confi dence that has been placed in me, the power of ceramic nanofi ltration. I am and look forward to helping the company grow grateful for the confi dence that has been and also advance the use ceramic nanofi ltration placed in me, and look forward to helping as a powerful solution for a wide array of the company grow and also advance the use applications,” said Paulus.
Organisational changes in Grundfos to improve customer proximity and fuel innovation
signifi cantly into innovation and digital
their fi ltration and separation challenges and In line with its values, Grundfos will treat its employees with the utmost respect and provide them with support.
Moberg expressed, “It will be very sad to see some of our colleagues leave us at this pivotal time, and I would like to thank everyone for their hard work and loyalty. We will make sure to care for them as they have cared for us and our customers during their time with Grundfos.”
“Since the birth of the business back in 1945 we have changed many times to ensure our success. Now is no diff erent, we are taking these important moves to proactively put our strategy in to action and better fulfi l our purpose.”
Veolia wins $183 million contract and contributes to drinking water access in Sri Lanka
BY winning a €156 million ($183 million) contract from the Sri Lankan National Water Supply and Drainage Board, Veolia, through its subsidiaries OTV and SADE, will help provide access to water on a large scale in the Greater Matale area.
Located in Sri Lanka’s Central Province, some 150 kilometres from the capital, Colombo, Greater Matale is a predominantly agricultural region. Veolia, through its subsidiary OTV, has just been appointed project manager for the construction of fi ve new water treatment plants in the region along with 12 service reservoirs, fi ve pumping stations and more 430km of transmission and distribution pipes. This system will ensure drinking water quality and secure supply for more than 350,000 people.
Clarifi cation, settling and fi ltration, the Matale (30,000m3/d), Ambanganga (18,000m3/d), Ukuwela, Udatenna and Rattotta (9,000m3/d each) water treatment plants will incorporate the Veolia solutions and technology that best suit local conditions. Another Veolia subsidiary, SADE will act as subcontractor to design and build the 433km transmission and distribution network.
This contract was made possible with the support of local French government services through a fi nancial scheme combining export credit from a syndicate of banks (CACIB, Natixis, Unicredit and BNP Paribas), with a guarantee from the French Ministry of Finance and a local commercial loan from HNB bank and treasury bonds.
